Henderson County, Kentucky
Henderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 46,250. The county seat is Henderson. The county was formed in 1798 and named for Colonel Richard Henderson who purchased of land from the Cherokee Indians, part of which would eventually make up the county. Henderson County is part of the Evansville, IN-KY Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Henderson County was established in 1798, using land taken from Christian County. A peninsula across the Ohio from Henderson, which now forms Union Township, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, was the subject of Handly's Lessee v. Anthony, a U.S. Supreme Court case in 1820.Handly's Lessee v. Anthony, An area known as "Green River Island" is part of Kentucky, even though is on the Indiana side of the Ohio River. The Ellis Park Race Course is located there. Once home to part of the Cherokee Nation, members of the Southern Cherokee were welcomed to Kentucky in 1893 and recognized as an Indian tribe by Governor John Young Brown. The Southern Cherokee still live in Henderson County.http://southerncherokeenationky.com/ A workplace shooting occurred at an Atlantis Plastics factory in Henderson, Kentucky, United States on June 25, 2008. The gunman, 25-year-old Wesley Neal Higdon, shot and killed five people and critically injured a sixth, before taking his own life. The mass murder is the worst in the history of Henderson County, surpassing the triple homicides that took place in 1799 and 1955. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (6.4%) is water. The county's northern border with Indiana is formed by the Ohio River. Adjacent counties *Posey County, Indiana (northwest) *Vanderburgh County, Indiana (north) *Warrick County, Indiana (northeast) *Daviess County (east) *McLean County (southeast) *Webster County (south) *Union County (west) Demographics |align-fn=center |footnote=U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2013 }} As of the census of 2000, there were 44,829 people, 18,095 households, and 12,576 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 19,466 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 91.16% White, 7.10% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.97% of the population. There were 18,095 households out of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.40% were married couples living together, 11.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were non-families. 26.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.93. In the county, the population was spread out with 24.60% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 30.00% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 13.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,892, and the median income for a family was $44,703. Males had a median income of $33,838 versus $22,572 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,470. About 9.70% of families and 12.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.20% of those under age 18 and 10.10% of those age 65 or over. Communities Cities *Corydon *Henderson (county seat) *Robards Census-designated places *Anthoston *Poole (partially in Webster County) *Spottsville Other unincorporated places *Alzey *Baskett *Bluff City *Cairo *Dixie *Finley Addition *Geneva *Graham Hill *Niagara *Reed *Scuffletown *Smith Mills *Weaverton *Zion Notable people *Happy Chandler, 44th and 49th governor of Kentucky; and Commissioner of Baseball from 1945 to 1951. *Ewing Galloway, a journalist and one time county prosecutor, in 1920 founded the Ewing Galloway Agency in New York City, a stock photography agency. By the time of his death 33 years later, his catalog of photos had grown to 400,000 images. Although most, if not all, of the photographs were either purchased from other agencies or shot by employees, the name "Ewing Galloway" appeared beside photos that appeared in books, encyclopedias, schoolbooks and magazine, making his name world-famous. . *Kentucky clergyman and university president LaVerne Butler was born in Henderson County in 1926. *Country entertainer Grandpa Jones was born and raised in Henderson County. Politics See also *National Register of Historic Places listings in Henderson County, Kentucky References Category:Henderson County, Kentucky Category:Counties of Kentucky Category:Kentucky counties on the Ohio River Category:1798 establishments in Kentucky Category:Evansville metropolitan area Category:Settlements established in 1798